Genealogical Classification
Indo-European / Germanic / West Germanic / Low German / Low Frankish
History
The most important explanation for the fact that Brabantish has not yet been recognized as a minority language has been that it is widely believed that Brabantish contributions to the development of Standard Dutch have been considerable. In the 14th and 15th centuries, Brussels, Mechelen and Antwerp, besides Ghent and Brugge, were the most influential cities within the Netherlandic language region, but as the standard language took shape at an accelerating pace in the 16th century, the Netherlands’ center of gravity shifted northward. After the fall of Antwerp (1585) in the Eighty Year War between Spain and the Netherlands, about 150,000 inhabitants of Flanders and Brabant fled to the north. As a consequence, influences of dialects such as that of Antwerp on the development of Standard Dutch remained strong even after the 15th century. The Amsterdam citizen Joost van den Vondel was a descendant of refugees from Antwerp.
Please also note that here we are discussing Brabantish of the cities of the provinces of Flemish Brabant and Antwerp. Toward the end of the 16th century, the western part of the province of Northern Brabant had been nearly depopulated on account of the war. It came to be repopulated by southerners from what is now the province of Antwerp. The dialects of the eastern part of the province of Northern Brabant have made virtually no contributions to the development of Standard Dutch. Thus, not all Brabantish dialects but only a few South Brabantish city dialects have strongly influenced the development of Standard Dutch.
Area and Varieties
It is the dialects of the Netherlands’ province Northern Brabant (Noord-Brabant) and the Belgian provinces of Antwerp (Antwerpen) and Flemish Brabant (Vlaams-Brabant) that are considered Brabantish. Of course, the isoglosses do not exactly coincide with the provincial boundaries. There are three smaller areas in Northern Brabant where non-Brabantish dialects are used: the Westhoek around Dinteloord with dialects that are rather more Hollandish, Budel and environs, that is Dommellands (d.h. Northwestern Belgian Limburgish), and the region of Cuijk where Kleverlandish is used, thus being more connected with the northern parts of Netherlands Limburg and southeastern Gelderland. Furthermore, there are a few transitional areas in which no exact boundary can be determined. The dialects of the Bommelerwaard to the north of eastern Northern Brabant strongly resemble the Brabantish dialects south of the Maas River. Flemish Brabant borders the Eastern Flemish dialect area in the west; the dialects in the transitional area, the Denderstreek, are also more or less Brabantish. Flemish Brabant borders Belgian Limburg in the east; the dialects of the transitional area, the Geteland, are also more or less Brabantish. In these three problematic cases, the provincial boundaries are referred to for the sake of convenience, although this is not quite correct in terms of dialectology.
Important features of Brabantish dialects include umlauting, diminutive forms with -ke, and 2nd person pronouns with g- (ge, gij, gellie).
Number of Speakers
The number of speakers is not known.
As points of reference please note the numbers of inhabitants in the areas mentioned here:
· Northern Brabant: 2,355,300
· Antwerp: 1,640,966
· Flemish Brabant: 1,014,704
Status
Brabantish is not considered a minority language. For this reason, there are no efforts to standardize Brabantish, nor to include these dialects in education or to use them in formal situations.
In 1999, orthographic guidelines were developed for all Brabantish dialects, with participation of representatives from Northern Brabant, Antwerp and Flemish Brabant.
Culture
Some areas have developed strong cabaret and music traditions in which the dialects are used. Especially the bailiwick of ’s-Hertogenbosch, the cities of Antwerp, Mechelen and Leuven, and the Pajottenland (Brussels and the area west of it), are home to many advocates of dialect use. This is hardly the case in other areas, such as the eastern part of the province of Antwerp, the region of Heusden and Altena, and the northwestern parts of Northern Brabant.
Language Sample
Dialect: Bergeijk
Author: Johan Biemans
Source: Swanenberg, J., & C. Swanenberg, Taal in Stad en Land: Oost-Brabants. ’s-Gravenhage, 2002.
Translator: Reinhard F. Hahn
|
Toen Suska goewd én wél binne wos in ’t winkeltje, zeej Jan: ‘Oo Suska... wa héb ik gehurd? Tóntje hoj ’t ’r giesteren aovend nog mèr goewd aafgebrocht bé Sus v-Gompel. Hoj ie nie ’n flés snéével gewonne, umdèt-ie ’t skónste plèkske van Bérgaajk geraojen hoj?’ |
When Ciska was well inside the little shop, Jan said, “Oh, Ciska ... what do I hear there? Toontje ended up doing pretty darn well again last night at Cis van Gompel’s. Didn’t he win a bottle of gin for guessing what’s the nicest spot in Bergeijk?” |
Author: Jos Swanenberg, 2002
Translator: Reinhard F. Hahn, 2002
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